AT SMART TRAINING, we’re big on workout finishers.
Picture this: You’re soaked in sweat, you’re tired, you’re hungry but the blood is still pumping and you know you have something left in the tank.
You have gotten yourself to the gym when others are sitting on the couch watching Big Brother, so that should be enough, but you know that it’s that last bit of effort that will push you to the next level.
Workout finishers are designed to help you get the very maximum growth from any workout. They ensure you leave every ounce of energy in the gym and get the biggest bang for your workout buck.
The finisher not only adds volume to your training session, they also test your mental toughness, challenging you when you are already exhausted.
You will notice that we prescribe exercises that don’t take a tonne of skill or coordination.
This is because movements that do require a great deal of either skill or coordination should be left to the beginning of your work out when you are not fatigued.
We have put together 5 finishers that are brutal additions to your already intense workouts, helping you squeeze every last ounce of growth from your workout.
1. Fat incinerating sprint finisher
Ideally you would perform this finisher on a track or green area but a treadmill will work just as well. Perform each sprint as quickly as you possibly can. Rest periods should always be 2:1, meaning that you should rest twice as long as the preceding sprint took to finish.
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For example, if 100 yards/0.1km took 20 seconds to complete, then you should rest for 40 seconds before attempting the next sprint.
Metabolic finishers are most effective when they focus on full body exercises done at high intensity, rotating from a lower body exercise to an upper body exercise. The result is that you burn more calories as the blood has to travel from the lower body to upper body and back.
Burpees – 30 seconds
Jumping jacks – 30 seconds
Sit-ups – 30 seconds
Squat jumps – 30 seconds
Rest for 30 seconds and repeat 2 more times.
3. Ab blast finisher
It’s summer time and everyone wants toned abs. Next time you finish up your gym workout, grab yourself a weight, a mat and a stability ball and get working on sculpting those abs.
Stability ball rollouts: Kneel on the floor or a mat facing the stability ball within arm’s reach. Straighten hips with subtle bend. Place your fists side by side on the upper side of the ball closest to your hips. Lean forward and roll ridged arms out over ball.
Roll forward as far as possible. Raise body back up by pulling arms back until kneeling upright in original position. Do this exercise 10 times.
Russian twists: Sitting down, simply hold your hands together, or hold a kettlebell or plate, above your torso.
Lift your feet slightly off the floor and move the weight side-to-side, almost touching the floor on each repetition. Do this exercise for 20 times, 10 on each side.
Repeat 8 times.
4. Tabatha finisher
Tabatha training is a great way to polish off an intense workout. This fast paced, high intensity interval routine added to the end of your workout will help you drop those extra pounds and cut body fat.
Beware the finisher may look simple, but we promise, it will beat you up and trim you down.
In total you need four minutes for this finisher, with 20 seconds per exercise and 10 seconds rest in between each exercise.
Jump lunges (20 seconds)
Jump squats (20 seconds)
Burpees (20 seconds)
Push-ups (20 seconds)
Repeat this set one more time ensuring that you only rest for 10 seconds between exercise 4 and exercise 1.
Burpees and kettlebell swings both help you boost your body’s power, work capacity and fat burning. While you may not be a big fan of kettlebell swings, I know that you will hate Burpees. No one actually likes Burpees. But in this case, the benefit outweighs the pain so get counting.
You will start out by performing 10 kettlebell swings and 10 burpees. From there you go down to 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and finally 1 rep of each.
Try to do the set as fast as possible and record your time so you can try to beat it during your next session.
5 brutal workout finishers for rapid fat loss and muscle building
AT SMART TRAINING, we’re big on workout finishers.
Picture this: You’re soaked in sweat, you’re tired, you’re hungry but the blood is still pumping and you know you have something left in the tank.
You have gotten yourself to the gym when others are sitting on the couch watching Big Brother, so that should be enough, but you know that it’s that last bit of effort that will push you to the next level.
Workout finishers are designed to help you get the very maximum growth from any workout. They ensure you leave every ounce of energy in the gym and get the biggest bang for your workout buck.
The finisher not only adds volume to your training session, they also test your mental toughness, challenging you when you are already exhausted.
You will notice that we prescribe exercises that don’t take a tonne of skill or coordination.
This is because movements that do require a great deal of either skill or coordination should be left to the beginning of your work out when you are not fatigued.
We have put together 5 finishers that are brutal additions to your already intense workouts, helping you squeeze every last ounce of growth from your workout.
1. Fat incinerating sprint finisher
Ideally you would perform this finisher on a track or green area but a treadmill will work just as well. Perform each sprint as quickly as you possibly can. Rest periods should always be 2:1, meaning that you should rest twice as long as the preceding sprint took to finish.
For example, if 100 yards/0.1km took 20 seconds to complete, then you should rest for 40 seconds before attempting the next sprint.
2. Metabolic circuit finisher
Metabolic finishers are most effective when they focus on full body exercises done at high intensity, rotating from a lower body exercise to an upper body exercise. The result is that you burn more calories as the blood has to travel from the lower body to upper body and back.
Rest for 30 seconds and repeat 2 more times.
3. Ab blast finisher
It’s summer time and everyone wants toned abs. Next time you finish up your gym workout, grab yourself a weight, a mat and a stability ball and get working on sculpting those abs.
Stability ball rollouts: Kneel on the floor or a mat facing the stability ball within arm’s reach. Straighten hips with subtle bend. Place your fists side by side on the upper side of the ball closest to your hips. Lean forward and roll ridged arms out over ball.
Roll forward as far as possible. Raise body back up by pulling arms back until kneeling upright in original position. Do this exercise 10 times.
Russian twists: Sitting down, simply hold your hands together, or hold a kettlebell or plate, above your torso.
Lift your feet slightly off the floor and move the weight side-to-side, almost touching the floor on each repetition. Do this exercise for 20 times, 10 on each side.
Repeat 8 times.
4. Tabatha finisher
Tabatha training is a great way to polish off an intense workout. This fast paced, high intensity interval routine added to the end of your workout will help you drop those extra pounds and cut body fat.
Beware the finisher may look simple, but we promise, it will beat you up and trim you down.
In total you need four minutes for this finisher, with 20 seconds per exercise and 10 seconds rest in between each exercise.
Repeat this set one more time ensuring that you only rest for 10 seconds between exercise 4 and exercise 1.
5. The final countdown
Burpees and kettlebell swings both help you boost your body’s power, work capacity and fat burning. While you may not be a big fan of kettlebell swings, I know that you will hate Burpees. No one actually likes Burpees. But in this case, the benefit outweighs the pain so get counting.
You will start out by performing 10 kettlebell swings and 10 burpees. From there you go down to 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and finally 1 rep of each.
Try to do the set as fast as possible and record your time so you can try to beat it during your next session.
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